Helen A. (“Honey” to her family) (Lauby) Dowd, 79, of Rockland, formerly of Dorchester, passed away peacefully with her loving family around her on September 11, 2024. The family is eternally grateful for the compassionate care Helen received from the staff on the 6th floor Oncology Unit at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth and from the staff at Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Institute, also in Weymouth, during her brave battle.

Born in Boston on July 19, 1945, Helen resided in Rockland for the past 52 years. She was the loving daughter of the late Bill and Helen (Ramoska) Lauby, whom she cared for during their illnesses. Helen leaves behind her longtime companion, Vince MacDonald of East Bridgewater. She was an incredibly loving mother to Colleen Hall of Rockland and beloved step-mother to Lili-Ann Foley of Mansfield and her partner, Jim Rich. Cherished Nana of Brandon, Will, Max, Alex, Aiden and Brianna. Favorite sister of Elly Jack of Maryland, Jack Lauby and his wife Ginny of Texas, and Lu Giordano and her husband Vince of Florida. Aunt Helen adored her many nieces and nephews and all their children and grandchildren. She was predeceased by her loving husband, Jim Dowd of Rockland, formerly of Dedham and East Bridgewater, her brother Dick Lauby of California and her brother-in-law Bob Jack of Maryland.

Growing up in Dorchester, Helen and her siblings liked to fish for change the morning after their father’s poker games. They had a running joke about which child looked like which parent even though they all resemble each other. That particular “discussion” continues on with Elly, Jack, and Lu. The siblings shall miss the frequent memes and jokes she shared with them throughout the week. Elly, in particular, will miss their hours-long phone conversations. Despite the distances, the siblings remained close to one another throughout life.

Though Helen worked as a secretary for various companies over the years, her favorite role was that of a stay at home mom. More than anything else, she adored her grandchildren and was so very proud of the adults they’ve become.

Back in the day, Helen was a Girl Scout leader and CCD teacher. Before his passing, she and Jim spent many good times laughing with friends at the East Bridgewater Commercial Club. She loved to laugh, especially when she was being teased by her family.

Several years after Jim’s passing, Helen found a new love in Vince. They enjoyed many trips to Vince’s childhood home in Nova Scotia, Canada. Vince brought much love and happiness to her later years and proved you are never too old to find love again.

Helen loved to cook. She made the best Thanksgiving stuffing; hers being the only stuffing Lili and Colleen even liked. No other stuffing could compare to hers. Good thing Colleen now holds the secret recipe, so her famous stuffing will continue to live on! We can’t forget about her amazing potato salad in the summer and, when the weather turned chilly, her warm pumpkin squares were in high demand.

Though Helen was a great cook, she was absolutely hopeless when it came to technology. Hopeless. She always messed up something on her phone or computer. Colleen or Brandon were always called upon to rescue her.

Helen also loved doing arts and crafts. She constantly gave away afghans that she crocheted to those she cared about. However, she did vow to never quadruplicate a pattern again after using one particular pattern to make several afghans all at once for her grandchildren when they were little. She talked about that ordeal for years.

She was the self-proclaimed biggest fan of Elvis though Neil Diamond came a close second. Her sister, Elly, might fight her on this one though.

Helen had many beloved pets over the years. Loki, the latest grand-dog and the one she SWORE she wouldn’t get attached to, ended up being the one she spoiled the most. Colleen never let her forget that comment.

Services will be from the Magoun Biggins Funeral Home, 135 Union Street, Rockland. Visiting hours will be held on Wednesday, September 18, 2024 from 5-8 PM. Funeral Mass will be held Thursday at 9 AM at Holy Family Church, 403 Union Street, Rockland. Interment will follow at the National Cemetery in Bourne at 12:30 where she will be laid to rest next to her beloved late husband, Jim, a Vietnam veteran. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Purple was Helen’s favorite color. Feel free to wear something purple to honor her memory. Friends are also invited to gather later that afternoon at Players, 86 VFW Drive, Rockland, for some refreshments and to celebrate and share memories (time to be determined).

Helen touched many more lives than she ever realized, therefore, in lieu of flowers, contributions in Helen’s memory can be made for the advancement of cancer research at the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Institute (www.dana-farberbrigham.org) or South Shore Hospital (www.southshorehealth.org). A tree can also be planted in Helen’s memory.